


Run To The Rock

by CJ_R



Category: Lucifer (TV)
Genre: Canon Compliant, Character Study, Gen, Missing Scene, Police
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-18
Updated: 2019-08-18
Packaged: 2020-09-08 03:43:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,402
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20299333
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CJ_R/pseuds/CJ_R
Summary: Before he ever stepped foot in the precinct, Lieutenant Marcus Pierce tried to have Lucifer Morningstar's consultancy revoked. An old friend intervenes.





	Run To The Rock

He had an appointment at precisely two thirty, which meant that newly minted Lt. Marcus Pierce was sitting outside his captain’s office at exactly two twenty-five, ostensibly on his phone while surveilling the waiting area.

One easy point of egress, relatively undefended. Secondary stairwell accessible. Open office plan in the center of the room with closed offices on the perimeter meant lots of personnel, most of whom were administrative and not likely a tactical threat. A few armed and uniformed officers striding through could present more of a danger, but overall it was the same, bureaucratic nonsense he’d seen too many times to count.

It never failed to be boring.

Still, at least Captain Munroe was punctual as her assistant called, “Lieutenant, you can go in now.”

“Thank you,” noting how the secretary’s eyes sized him up with interest before sliding away at his curt tone. That could be useful in the future. But for now, he focused on the present, slipping on a practiced, pleasant mask as he walked into the office of Captain Olivia Munroe. “Captain, thank you for making the time to see me.”

“Of course.” Olivia Munroe was a handsome woman on the cusp of middle age who wore it well. Smartly dressed, but still practical, she projected an air of authority without trying as she sat back in her seat, eyes sharp and watching him even as she crossed her fingers in a seemingly relaxed pose. “What can I do for you, Lieutenant?”

He took a seat, mimicking her relaxed pose by stretching out one leg in front of him as he sat fully in the seat. Power games were rarely interesting with someone so far out of his weight class, but there was no point in making waves when it wasn’t necessary. “I wanted to ask you about the Morningstar consultant.”

“You mean why did I deliberately countermand your termination order on that contract?” Captain Munroe arched both brows, seemingly amused.

Pierce offered a nod. “Yes. I’ve looked into him.”

“I’m sure you have,” was all she said, allowing him to sit in silence as she waited for him to continue.

A spark of reluctant respect had him raising his eyebrows, even as he allowed himself to play the part of the hard-assed lieutenant. “Captain, the LAPD has more important things to do than letting a nightclub owner play detective. Especially one who attracts the type of attention that Lucifer Morningstar does.”

Her lips quirked slightly. “I see.”

“Clearly you disagree.” It was also clear that the she owed her position to the Devil – after all, it was just before he officially started “consulting” that she broke the case that made her career – some sordid affair involving a gang war and a shoe designer. In fact, she was widely expected to become the Chief of Police just as soon as she had enough experience in a captaincy and deputy position to make her appointment viable.

Captain Munroe folded her hands on her desk in front of her. “Lieutenant, you’ve been familiarizing yourself with your precinct, correct?

“I have,” he nodded, playing along.

“And what is your homicide department’s clearance rate?”

“As of last year, seventy one percent. Higher than average.” He could see where this was going already, and he didn’t like it one bit.

“Mmm.” Captain Munroe tilted her chin slightly. “Breaking that down further, Lieutenant, Detective Decker and Mr. Morningstar’s solve rate is sitting at a very impressive eighty-three percent. They’re weighting your average quite a bit.”

He nodded, willing to play along. “I understand Detective Decker is excellent.”

“She is. She’s one of the best and brightest to come up through the LAPD in many years. Do you know what her solve rate was before Mr. Morningstar was brought on as her partner?” Munroe watched him with an amused smirk on her lips.

“I do not,” he lied lightly. Chloe Decker’s file was sitting at the very top of his paperwork and he’d memorized it during the course of his research.

She nodded. “I didn’t think so. The answer is seventy-four percent. Twelve points above the average solve rate, working without a partner at all, swimming in the corrupt cesspool that is that precinct, Lieutenant. A cesspool that you’ve been assigned to help clean up.”

“Indeed. And one irregularity that I see is allowing a civilian to play at cops and robbers. Captain, this isn’t a television show – civilian consultants are just fine when they stay in their place and areas of expertise.” He leaned forward as if to push his vision in front of her. “What expertise does a nightclub owner who calls himself the Devil actually bring to the table?”

She just smiled, showing far too many teeth. “Something that you could stand to learn, Lieutenant Pierce. Charm.”

He sat back, feeling a familiar expression of annoyance attempt to creep onto his face. “Excuse me?”

Captain Munroe leaned forward across her desk, her forearms gently resting against the edge. “Lucifer Morningstar brings charm, charisma and a wide range of contacts to the table. He’s able to open doors that we can’t into events and places we simply cannot access without his help. And because of that, he and Decker are sitting on a solve rate that’s twenty-one points above the national average for homicide, pulling your precinct’s overall numbers up dramatically.”

“He’s also got a reputation for violence and other…shenanigans that do not reflect well on this department.” He wasn’t willing to give ground just yet, but it was clear the Devil’s hooks into the LAPD were firmly set at this point.

She shrugged her shoulders. “No suspect has ever actually come to harm in his custody. I wish I could say the same of all the officers in this city, but I’m currently up to my ears in excessive force complaints and lawsuits regarding racial profiling.”

He did his best not to clench his jaw. “And the reports of him leaving suspects crying and sitting in puddles of their own urine?” Not an unreasonable response to being confronted with the Lord of Hell for the first time, he had to admit.

“All of which were investigated, including reviewing surveillance tapes of interrogations where available and taking witness statements.” Munroe shrugged. “I can’t explain how he scares them into confessions, but at no point has he laid a hand on a suspect or – “

“Driven them to jump off a roof in terror?” Pierce arched his brows.

Captain Munroe sat back a little bit, settling herself more comfortably in her chair. “Lieutenant, are you a religious man?”

“Not particularly, no.”

_A long-ago home, a shack by any modern standard, in the distance. His brother and father working in the field after the annual flooding, red soil coating their legs and hands as they laughed and planted in the sun. _

_His mother calling to him, her long dark curls shadowing her face as she knelt to gather wild roots and herbs in a rough basket by the river. “Cain, darling, look! Just around the bend there’s a small flock.”_

_He was already so much taller than her, lanky and awkward as she reached up to cup his face with her hands, her large dark eyes always so expressive in her face as he brought her two wild fowl for the pot, their necks neatly broken. “My beautiful big boy. God is good.”_

“Then why the fixation on removing Mr. Morningstar from his position? Surely you don’t believe he’s actually the Devil?” Munroe’s brows were arched in skepticism.

Pierce blinked twice, shaking off the unwelcome memory of long ago. “That’s not the point. I’m trying to establish a tone of decorum and competence in this precinct and Lucifer Morningstar, from every report I’ve read, is a disruptive influence to the well-oiled machine that a properly functioning police precinct should be.”

“He’s a highly effective disruption, then.” She picked up a file off the corner of her desk. “You haven’t seen this yet.” She placed it on the edge of her desk.

He picked it up. “What is this?”

“An arrest report for Bianca Ruiz. Tequila magnate, on the surface. She’s been running one of the largest smuggling rings on the West Coast for years. And she was completely untouchable. Until yesterday,” she said with a satisfied smile.

He opened it, a sinking feeling in his chest as he glanced over the arresting officers. Sure enough, there it was in black and white.

_Det. Chloe Decker_

_Lucifer Morningstar (civilian consultant)_

Olivia Munroe leaned forward in her seat again. “Let me put this to you in the simplest possible terms, Lieutenant Pierce. What you have, right there?” She pointed to the arrest report. “That’s a dream team. These are the types of cases that make careers. Your predecessor, for example, will be moving to a captaincy near Nashville. A smart man doesn’t break that up for personal distaste.”

If there was one thing he knew, it was when to make a tactical retreat. “Yes, ma’am.”

Her smile showed plenty of teeth as she said, “I’m glad we understand each other, Lieutenant. Did you have any other questions?”

He stood. “No, thank you. I believe I understand your…motivations perfectly.” He allowed himself to linger over the word and all the implications. At least he should have an easy time getting leverage on the current heir apparent of the chief of police.

She sat back in her chair, seemingly amused by his insinuation. “In that case, I’ll let you get back to work, Lieutenant Pierce. You’ve got a lot to do. The department is looking forward to seeing what you do with this precinct.”

He nodded curtly before turning on his heel and doing his best not to stalk out of his captain’s office, aware that, for now, he needed to play the game. Coming up through the police ranks in such a way as to not draw attention when one didn’t age was an expensive time sink that he couldn’t afford to waste, for now. Not when he was so close to testing his theory.

It seemed he was going to need to find an alternate solution to the problem of the Devil.

Stepping outside of police headquarters he strode down the sidewalk, waiting until he was at least a block away before pulling out his phone. “It’s me.”

_“Sir?”_ His lieutenant’s voice came over the speaker, his raspy voice mild and unassuming.

“It’s time to move to plan B. Have you found a suitable hire?”

_“I believe so. A company called ‘Snatched.’ They do vanity kidnappings for the wealthy.”_ There was the clack of a keyboard in the background. _“We have a man inside. Low level – owes a favor. He’ll obey.”_

“Very good.” Pierce allowed a hint of approval to warm his voice. “What about our tails on Decker and Morningstar?”

_“Detective Decker is currently inside her assigned precinct and is expected to remain there until the end of the workday, barring a body drop.”_ More clacking in the background. _“Morningstar has returned to his place of business. It appears there’s been some…drama with one of his regular guests.”_

“All right. Keep an eye on them. Lucifer Morningstar is to be removed from the equation within the next forty-eight hours. You’ll run this – you know the parameters, yes?”

_“Decker needs to be within a certain radius of the target for a successful takedown. I’ll take care of it, sir.”_

“Good. Anything else I should know about?” Pierce crossed a street, uncaring as two nearby pedestrians screamed in shock as a car braked to a sudden stop six inches away from hitting him.

“Hey! Buddy! Watch where you’re walking! Fuckin’ dumbass tourists!” the driver screamed out the front window, cell phone in one hand, before speeding away once Pierce had finished crossing, not to the sidewalk, but the other lane, giving the driver just enough room to not run him over.

_“With all due respect, you need to focus on the mission and let me do my job. I can handle the Morningstar situation. And anything else that comes up, for that matter.”_ His lieutenant’s voice was slightly annoyed with the easy familiarity that only came from having been groomed from childhood for his position.

Pierce arched his brows and offered a single nod in a gesture of respect the other man couldn’t see. “Very well. We’re on radio silence until I’m integrated properly into the precinct as of now. Send the usual text alert code to let me know when Morningstar has been taken care of.”

_“I’m sure you’ll be in dire need of a service to consolidate your loans,” _came the slightly sardonic response.

A hint of a smile tugged at the corners of his mouth as he entered the nearby, paid parking garage. “I’m sure. Be careful – Morningstar is not to be underestimated.”

_“We’ll be sure to give the Devil his due, sir._” With no further goodbyes, his right-hand man hung up the phone, obeying orders for radio silence.

Pierce unlocked his parked car. He still had a few more meetings with the brass before he would officially start as the newest Homicide lieutenant. Hobnobbing with the higher ups was tedious but taking the time to move all of the pawns into place was essential to executing the larger strategy. Sliding into the driver’s seat, he picked up a file lying on top of the paperwork stacked on the passenger’s seat and flipped it open to the first page.

It was dominated by a single eight by ten glossy color photo of an attractive woman in full police uniform. The date on the bottom said that this particular official portrait had been taken ten years ago. Large, blue-grey eyes dominated her face, blonde hair scraped back into a tight ponytail that emphasized high cheekbones and a clean jaw, leading the eye down to an absurdly generous mouth. All in all, Pierce noted with the faintest hint of amusement, she looked rather angelic. “Now that’s a piece of irony. The Devil in love with an angel.”

He rested his fingers over top of the photo for a moment, not bothering to re-read the accompanying reports. “I’m gonna figure you out, Decker,” he murmured to himself. His fingertips tapped the base of her throat. “Just a few more days.”

Just a few more days until he could attempt to fulfill his greatest desire.


End file.
